| Hello! Before I get into the week's advertising and media news, a plug: We're publishing a list of PR experts focused on crisis communications, and we're looking for your recommendations. Get all the details and fill out the nomination form by Feb. 14 here. On to the news. Lauren Johnson reported in Palm Springs, California, at the IAB's Annual Leadership Conference, where marketers are panicking about Google's plans to get rid of the cookies that are the bedrock of digital advertising. Marketers have long relied on cookies to power digital ads and worry that the fixes being offered are short-term solutions. New to this email? Get your own here. Send me tips or feedback at lmoses@businessinsider.com. Meanwhile, every day seems to bring a company that claims to be reinventing the traditional ad agency model. The newest is from two Viacom alums who formed a new firm called Known. Their pitch is that they can beat the incumbents at everything from helping clients with targeting to optimizing campaigns, and from picking influencers to developing new product lines. Meanwhile, a new power player in the advertising world, ex-Clinton loyalist Mark Penn, is trying to shore up holding company MDC with a massive office consolidation. The move is estimated to save at least $10 million, but it faces an upward battle: The company Penn took over in 2019 had been struggling for years even before its founder Miles Nadal was fined by the SEC after he admitted failing to disclose millions in compensation. Here are other great stories from advertising and media. (Not a subscriber to BI Prime? Click here to become one.) Advertising The LA head at Virtue Worldwide is leaving as churn at Vice's ad agency continues
The turnover comes as the youth-focused Vice Media is leaning on its agency to get to profitability. Amazon is ramping up its pitch for audio ads after long promising Alexa would be ad-free
"I literally gasped," an agency executive who heard the pitch said. "I was truly shocked because Amazon has made such a big deal about not using [Alexa] as an ad platform for so long." However, the Amazon Music ads' measurement is limited, and advertisers cannot target them, two of the agency sources said. Tech companies like Samsung are moving into the advertising business, using data to target people — but it will take a lot more than that to succeed
Mike Shields, the former advertising editor for Business Insider who is now CEO of Shields Strategic Consulting, argues that Samsung and Vizio's moves into ad sales could work. Samsung has data on when and how customers watch ads, which it could use to produce better ads. It'll have to contend with a slew of other well-armed competitors, though. Facebook and Google's historically massive advertising is slowing, and it shows how privacy and Amazon are taking their toll
Their core businesses are slowing, privacy laws like California's Consumer Privacy Act could impact Facebook, and Amazon is a growing threat to Google. Curaleaf, the biggest cannabis retailer, just snapped up Cura. The new CMO revealed how he plans to move the company forward after a string of controversies.
Cura had just agreed to pay a record fine for mislabeling the ingredients in its Select cannabis oil pens. Now Curaleaf has to re-establish people's trust in the Select brand. $4 billion snack maker Kind says it will spend 'tens of millions of dollars more' to market its new frozen and refrigerated products, and hit $1.6 billion in sales in 2020
It's expanding to frozen bars, refrigerated nut-butter bars, and chocolate clusters, to compete with General Mills and Clif Bar. What it's like to work at Wieden and Kennedy, one of advertising's most famous and quirky agencies
The shop known for its Nike ads isn't big on titles, favors industry outsiders, and takes an unconventional organizational approach. Media Meet the 12 power player execs in the movie-theater industry who are shaping the future of film on the big screen
Our list includes execs at Alamo Drafthouse, AMC, Disney, and the traditionally anti-theater streamer Netflix. The public relations pro who helped WeWork and Uber CEOs through major PR disasters just got a big job at his old company
Jimmy Asci is back at Teneo after a brief stint at WeWork. How to get noticed by Netflix job recruiters who can help you get hired, according to company insiders
One of the first big steps to getting hired at Netflix is getting on the radar of one of its in-house recruiters. A 22-year-old beauty YouTuber explains the main ways she makes money, from a merchandise line to a makeup palette with Tarte Cosmetics
Morin built a following on YouTube by posting beauty and fashion videos, like makeup and hair tutorials for prom. She later started a vlog channel. An Instagram influencer with 100,000 followers shares the 9-page media kit she uses to pitch brands, which includes how much money she charges
Travel influencer Macy Mariano learned that she needed to pitch herself to brands to be taken seriously. How artists are using TikTok to drive thousands of dollars in sales and find new customers
TikTok has become a powerful new marketing tool for artists on Etsy, and creators are using TikTok to highlight their work and get commissions. | 